For a startup business, creating a business plan is like creating a game plan in sports. You need to scout out all the information to create a winning strategy for the game. While business plans for existing companies may have a special focus, such as setting overall goals, reviewing specific operations, evaluating new products, assessing new technology in the industry, or some other specific purpose, the business plan for a startup company is the blueprint for its formation, its operation, and its success. A business plan exposes a new company's strengths and weaknesses. It reveals ways to capitalize on the strengths and minimize the weaknesses, uncovers every facet of the business that can be developed, and points to the best method for that development. It provides a structure for the company's pursuit of the winner's trophy.

Even though creating a business plan takes time, thought and effort, and may seem like an impediment to getting on with opening or growing your new business, it is imperative in today's competitive business climate for you to have all relative information available and evaluated before opening your doors. With a thoughtfully prepared business plan you will enter the business world prepared, ready to run your business and ready to compete.

Although researching and writing your business plan may seem like a monumental task, with preparation it can be quite painless. As you go through the process, you will develop your knowledge and understanding of your business, improve your chances of success, and diminish your risks of failure as a startup owner.

Prior to writing your business plan, there are several issues you must resolve. It is beyond the scope of this text to cover all of these in depth; however, a basic checklist with a few recommended reference books is provided, so you can explore some of the subjects more thoroughly. As an entrepreneur of a startup company:

Are you prepared to operate a business?

Have you already decided upon your product(s) or service(s)?

Have you investigated other types of businesses? Have you explored the broad economic business sectors: manufacturing, wholesale, retail, service ...? Have you considered other industries within the sector of your choice? Have you thought about what types of businesses are strongest now and for the future?

Have you checked out franchises? To check out the possibilities and benefits of becoming a franchise outlet owner or franchisor, read Erwin Keup's Franchise Bible and my books, No Money Down: Financing for Franchising and The Franchise Redbook.

Do you have a location in mind? Have you researched the principles of site selection: physical site needs (address, neighborhood, interior lot, corner lot), cost effectiveness, interior space, exterior space, visibility, traffic volume (which side of the street and times of the day), and accessibility? Are you familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of types of sites, such as freestanding buildings, storefronts, regional malls, and many others? Are you familiar with the principles of lease negotiation? See Luigi Salvaneschi's Location, Location, Location.

Have you located the necessary business consultants--accountant, attorney, banker, and others? One resource is The Small Business Insider's Guide to Bankers by Suzanne Caplan and Thomas M. Nunnally.

Do you know your financial position, your credit rating, your investment costs? The author's No Money Down: Financing for Franchising covers these topics in detail for any business, not only franchising.

Before going forward, it is assumed you have done the basic homework for each of the elements above and that:

You are ready to go into business

You have your basic business concept

You have decided on your basic product(s) or service(s)

You have your location and facility

You have a business accountant and attorney

You understand your financial position and your investment costs

While you may have already explored the following business concepts during your startup stage, you will be reconsidering and reevaluating these as you develop your business plan:

Vesting

Business objectives

Mission statement

Keys to success

Industry analysis

Market analysis

Competitor analysis

Strategies

Marketing plan

Management

Organizational structure

Operations

Financial pro formas

Break-even analysis

Financial requirement

Don't be concerned if you aren't familiar with all of these concepts. Writing a business plan for your new business is a straightforward process that you can move through step by step to completion. The whole process can be accomplished in two to four weeks, depending on your business.

A Professional Presentation

In surveying many successful business plans, you will find that
no one format fits them all. Depending upon the nature of the
business, certain topics take precedence over others. Often the
owners write their business plans, since they know the most about
their business operation and management and they have learned what
elements to include to make the best impression.

A complete business plan for a startup company is best organized
according to the logical development of the business and is
comprised of at least 12 basic components.

1. Executive Summary: By definition, to summarize the
elements of your business

2. Company Description: For identification, to introduce
your readers to your company and your business concept

3. Industry analysis: To provide a picture of your
industry and of the position of your business within the larger
framework

4. Market and Competition: To evaluate what you are
getting into. While some business plan proponents separate market
and competition, it takes an examination of both, together, to come
to one very important final conclusion: your market share.
Consequently, it is best to examine and present them together.

5. Strategies and Goals: To analyze the market and your
competition in order to determine how and where your company or
products or services fit and to maximize your position with your
target market

6. Products or Services: To describe your products or
services and how they match your findings of your strategies and
goals

7. Marketing and Sales: To market your products or
services with the best positioning and to forecast your sales based
on the findings of categories four, five, and six, in that
order

8. Management and Organization: To present the management
and personnel who will run the show. This section can be separated
into two sections for more complex companies.

11. Financial Requirement: To present the type and amount
of financing needed, based on the previous sections, to accomplish
the whole plan

12. Exhibits: By definition, to close the plan and
separate any supporting materials that would otherwise interrupt
the flow of the story

A professionally written startup business plan has all 12 of
these basic sections presented in the order of the outline. Most of
the segments listed will also be reflected in the same order of
presentation, although there may be slight variances depending on
your type of business. When your business plan is written to obtain
financing, the financial requirement section may be tailored either
as a loan request or as an investment offering proposal, and then
titled accordingly.

A Winning First Impression

The saying, "There's no second chance to make a good
first impression," is highly appropriate when it comes to the
opening sections of your business plan and its overall appearance.
With current desktop publishing, business plans are looking more
professional--prospects are competing for neatness and an
impressive presentation that sets them apart.

Format. As to format, the norm is to bind your business
plan in booklet form with high-quality materials. Better ones have
quality report covers in dark or rich colors and are labeled on the
front. The title page serves better than a label if laminated or
positioned behind a windowed cover or behind a full clear cover.
Most types of binding are available at copy centers: Ibico and GBC
presentation bindings, Wire Bind, and Velobinder are a few of the
better ones. Some businesses go the extra step to have printed
covers or printed binding strips. Three-ring binders have been used
for years and are still acceptable, but you improve your odds for
making that favorable first impression by using the latest and most
professional-looking, high-tech materials available.

Page layout. Make sure the layout of each page is
balanced and artistically pleasing, with a lot of open or negative
space--paragraphs, lines, and characters should not be too closely
spaced. With desktop publishing, many types of fonts are available.
The text is generally easier to read if you use a font with serifs,
such as New Times Roman, Charter or Garamond, and the margins are
justified. For a professional quality, use a sans-serif font, such
as Arial, Modern or Verdana, for titles, sideheads, tables and
outlines. Choose one of each and stay consistent throughout the
presentation.

Using the latest software printing design tools, such as boxes,
borders, shadow lines, and enlarged and bold characters, can add a
professional look if correctly done without drawing attention to
their use and stealing the show from the material itself. Color
printing, judiciously placed, is being used more all the time.

Tabs and titles. Each subject, with titled heading,
should have its own section and be separated with indexed
partitions keyed to the table of contents. Tabbed index partitions
make it easier to locate information, especially during a personal
presentation. Another feature is to use colored partitions,
preferably muted or soft colors that coordinate with the color of
the cover and with the colors of any charts or graphs inside.
Instead of custom tabs, some plans are assembled with printed tab
indices with miniature plastic covers, but if you have access to
preprinted laminated tabs, they are preferable. Avery has Index
Maker dividers for ink-jet and laser printers that you can
customize with basic desktop software. A recent innovation is
hidden tabs that protrude past the pages but not the cover.

Within each section, set off subsections or segments with
crossheads usually set bold in a sans-serif font. When these are
justified to the right or left margin, they are referred to as
sideheads.

Color and charts. Charts, graphs, and illustrations are
commonly acceptable if appropriate to the text. Color is often
better than black and white; however, choose reds and blues, not
chartreuses, yellow-oranges, or some other unusual color. In fact,
if you are going to use extensive colored charts and graphs, choose
a theme of three or four rich colors and use them consistently
throughout the work. Reserve photographic prints for the exhibits.
Even then, they should be presented in protective sheets or
converted to color copies and labeled or captioned in font styles
consistent with the rest of the business plan. If needed in the
main body of the business plan, pictures look more professional
when scanned and merged into the layout.

Proofreading and copyediting.Have your figures checked
by an accountant and the text proofread by an editor or
proofreader. An accurate, easy-to-read, and well-organized text
will convey professionalism and credibility. Too often this
important step is avoided or forgotten: despite all the work that
has gone into creating an impressive presentation, typos, missing
words, poor sentence construction, and figures that don't add
up become a significant part of that first impression made on a
reviewer.

Important Points to Remember

An accurate, easy-to-read, and well-organized business plan
conveys professionalism and credibility.

You improve your odds for making a favorable first impression
by using the latest and most professional-looking, high-tech
materials available.

Don't necessarily try to balance the material from section
to section. Place your emphasis in the proper perspective and
accent the features that are most important for your business.

Always include a cover letter with your business plan, because
it may get passed on to other staff members who won't know
about your venture.